Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the state government was coordinating with relevant agencies to ensure the safety and early return of people from Assam stranded in flood-hit Nepal.
''We are aware of people from Assam stranded in Nepal amid the ongoing floods. We are in touch with their families and coordinating with relevant agencies to ensure their safety and earliest possible return home," Sarma said on X on Thursday.
Sarma did not specify the number of people from Assam who were stranded or missing.
Chief Secretary Ravi Kota said the state government had so far not received requests from families seeking information about relatives in Nepal.
An emergency help desk has been set up at Assam House in New Delhi to assist families. The helpline numbers are 011-23010299/98 and 28877111, while 9101089151 (Anuran Medhi) and 892057057 (Vinod Kalita) have also been designated for emergency assistance.
The death toll from the devastating flash floods in central Nepal rose to 469 on Friday, as rescue teams recovered more bodies. A total of 1,545 injured and stranded people have so far been rescued from affected areas, with 84 undergoing treatment at hospitals in Kathmandu.
Search and rescue operations continued for the third day, with 7,451 security personnel, including 2,391 Nepal Army personnel, deployed across the affected regions, according to a statement by Nepal Police.
The disaster was triggered by an ice-rock avalanche following a glacial collapse near the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday. The resulting torrent of water, mud and debris swept through central Nepal, destroying homes, vehicles, roads and bridges and damaging hydropower projects.
(With inputs from PTI)
